Lily’s Book Review of Unholy Magic by Stacia Kane

left on Maryse’s voicemail:
12:36am: Maryse! Oh my goodness I am so in love! I told you I was reading that new Downside series by Stacia Kane, right? It’s that new urban fantasy series based around the idea that in 1997 “Truth” was revealed and ghosts took over and killed tons of people. The only ones able to help was a small church that believed in magic, and once they restrained the ghosts and put them back in the ground (called The City) they took over the government and religion, because there was now proof there are no gods. The main character is Chess, a witch who works for the church but is heavily addicted to pills. This is an awesome series, that reads easily (except for Downside speak which is easy enough to pick up).

1:15am: Hey, my Maker! So dig this, after being poisoned while busting an illegal witch Chess heads to a local club to hang with Terrible, her drug dealers muscle when they get the call to come inspect the body of a murdered prostitute. This isn’t all that uncommon, but her eyes are missing, and that is the third body in Downside that has turned up like that. Locals are claiming it must be “The Cryin Man” but Chess doesn’t think it’s a ghost.

1:36am: Awesome scene while at another prostitutes murder site, Chess has just declared that it is not the Cryin Man killing these whores.

The words sliced through her like razor-sharp fangs. Her face flooded with shame, so hot she imagined it steamed in the icy air. At least it wasn’t difficult to identify the speaker. All she had to do was look for the man with Terrible’s fist locked around his neck.

“Ain’t think I hear you right,” Terrible said in a calm, quiet voice. “Wanna louden up?” The man shook his head His eyes bulged. He looked like a bug, with his hands clenching into tiny useless fists. “You sure? You got else to say, you best say it now, instead of later. Now we got us watchers. Later might not be true, dig?” The man dug.

1:55am: You know I really get a serious kick out of the way her drug dealing pimp Bump is described. He is vulgar and wears fur pajamas. He wants her to her to pretend to be a hooker to catch this hooker killing ghost-catching ghosts is her job after all, and mentions she might even want to turn a few tricks and “could help herself.” You got to love Terrible’s reaction to this…

“She ain’t do it, Bump.”

So as she is sitting there-stoned out of her freaking mind- she has this thought “She wasn’t considering it, not really….but he did have a point. It was her job. Save the cold, and the disgusting suggestion that she might actually turn a trick or two wasn’t a half bad idea. That was the problem with Bump. Despite the fact that he was practically a textbook villain – she expected him to grow a mustache to twirl any day- his ideas made sense.”

I guess if you’re stoned, but really this does not sound like the Chess we know.

2:28am: I know you LOVE triangles so you are going LOVE this book. The tension between her and Terrible are off the charts, but there is still one small problem of Lex, the rival drug dealers main man, that she has been sleeping with for months. After an extremely personal moment with Terrible and a step back for both of them Chess has a very sorrowful thought

“Why was she do determined always to do the exact wrong thing?”

3:05am: I can’t wait to see how this book ends! Turns out Slobag (the rival Lex is with) is having the same problem in his territory, and wants to meet with Bump. That means Bump wants her at that meeting with him and Terrible, and Lex is going to be there. Slobag knows Chess is sleeping with Lex, and if Bump suspects she is with the enemy he will have Terrible kill her, without a doubt. So how does one act when faced with being stuck between two rival drug dealers she has obligations to and the man she is sleeping with and the one she calls her best friend?

“When had being an addict gotten so f-ing hard? So exhausting? It had been so easy for so long; she had a steady supply, she kept to herself, nobody bothered her. Now she was constantly up to her ears in intrigue and complications, being torn in every direction but her own, all thanks to her need for those pills.”

But don’t be fooled, just because she can admit she has a problem doesn’t mean she’s ready to do anything about it.

4:24am: Maryse, I am heartbroken, torn and ripped up. The ending of this book is so harsh. I am really glad City of Ghosts is already out, my goodness the withdrawal would have been brutal. For some reason I keep finding myself cheering for the pillhead witch and the drug dealers muscle as they face danger and horror that even they didn’t see coming, sometimes ghosts aren’t the only big bad out there. A wonderful read that deserves all the praise it has been getting. As you know I have gotten quite picky over the last few months and this is by far and away the best new series of the year for me. I need you to come feel my forehead…..I think I’ve come down with a case of Terrible fever.

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I'm addicted to reading and I need to expend my book energy (especially when one puts me in an emotional frenzy - SO fun!). So, I release my feelings by writing about them here! It's my book therapy. [ read more ]